It has become increasingly important to enable home consumers to obtain and use a wealth of information received from outside the home or business and to use such information for viewing or controlling home/business appliances or consumer electronics. In recent times, the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) have been important new sources of electronic information. In addition, radio and television broadcasts available via cable or satellite communications are also additional sources of information available for the home or business consumer. Additionally, the conventional telephone network is yet another source of information and a valuable information communication medium.
Although these various forms of information sources and electronic communication media exist, the prior art systems have been unable to effectively combine these information sources and communication media into a readily usable and convenient control device. Because the information sources provide such a wealth of information in a highly divergent set of formats, it has been particularly difficult to combine this divergent information into a convenient and robust control device. Moreover, because each of the various information sources may not be available at all locations, it is necessary to provide a control device that is uniformly useful no matter where it may be deployed.
Various forms of prior art devices exist. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,605 entitled "Remote Control Unit for Controlling a Television and Video Cassette Recorder with a Display for Allowing a User to Select Between Various Programming Schedules" discloses a universal remote control unit for controlling a television and videocassette recorder. The device includes a data input mechanism securable to a telephone line for receiving signals from an external supplier representing television programming schedule items. The device includes a display mechanism for displaying television programming schedule items and television and videocassette operating functions in a hierarchy of textual and scrollable selection lists. The device also includes a user-operable selector mechanism for allowing a user to scroll through the lists and then select television programming schedule items or television and videocassette functions. Although the device provides a wealth of functionality, the user interface is excessively complex and confusing. The user is presented with a myriad of buttons and menu displays, which easily confuse an unsophisticated user. Further, the device provides only a telephone line link for receiving external information via the telephone network.
Further, other devices exist in the prior art for receiving information via the vertical blanking interval (VBI) in a cable television transmission. Using the VBI, data can be transmitted across a video cable at the same time as real-time video images are transmitted on the cable. Using this technique, data can be transmitted to a wide audience using the cable television infrastructure. Many conventional set-top boxes are coupled to such cable TV systems and receive data transmitted during the VBI.
Other prior art systems describe various ways of displaying and manipulating electronic programming guide (EPG) information on a conventional television (TV) monitor. These on-screen television guides necessarily interrupt the standard video signal while the user is manipulating the EPG display on the monitor. Such interruptions affect all those who are viewing the monitor. Further, no privacy can be provided for a user manipulating the EPG information if the information is displayed on the TV monitor.
Thus, a better control device is needed for receiving information from external sources and for using the information for controlling home appliances.